Why Does Chrome Use So Much CPU? Complete Step-by-Step Guide

The most popular web browser is Chrome, which is based on the open-source Chromium project. The success of Chrome prompted other browser developers, like Opera and Microsoft Edge, to utilize the same Chromium code on which it was founded.

Chrome has a very good reputation for being fast and dependable, but it can be temperamental under specific situations. When Chrome begins acting strangely, such as taking up too many computer resources, including hard drive space, CPU time, and RAM capacity, it’s typically due to one of a few factors.

This article covers the problems and solutions when Chrome is using too much CPU on any machine.

How do I Determine How Much Processor Time is Being Consumed by Chrome?

Let’s begin by determining when Chrome is utilizing 100% of the processor. We use Wise System Monitor to keep track of system resources in real-time. It has a tiny widget on your desktop that you can make “always on top.” It shows fast information about current network download/upload speeds, RAM usage, and CPU usage, as well as CPU operating temperature.

When CPU usage rises, click on the CPU icon to display a list of processes that are using the most CPUs.

If you do not want to utilize a real-time monitoring program, the Windows Task Manager is an acceptable alternative. However, you must keep it open all the time in order to monitor system resources usage.

HUD Pro also supports the Resource Monitor, which is a graphical tool used to diagnose and troubleshoot performance problems. You may use Microsoft HUD Profiler or System Performance Monitor as well. We’ve also covered alternatives to Windows Resource Monitor if you’re looking for something different.

Symptoms of a High CPU Usage:

Even if you aren’t monitoring your system in real time, it will begin to show signs of trouble. Here are some of the indications that Chrome is utilizing too many resources:

1. Your computer’s mouse begins to lag.
2. It can take a long time for new applications to launch.
3. Frequent screen freezes occur.
4. Laptop batteries quickly become exhausted.
5. The laptop’s fan and hard drive begin to spin up.

If you experience any of the symptoms described above, or a combination of them, your computer should be investigated.

Why Does Chrome Use so Much CPU?

There are a few causes for Chrome’s heavy CPU usage. Let us list some of the reasons why. In the long run, you can prevent these issues to maintain your Chrome browser in good working order.

1. Opening too many web pages or windows at once.
2. Extensions or applications that require a lot of processing power.
3. Malware might also impact Chrome processor use.

The Chrome browser has a malware scanner that may be used to detect malware on the computer. The software reporter tool, in some cases, can consume a lot of CPU resources. You may quickly turn it off if this is the case.

If you have a lot of tabs open at the same time, The Great Suspender Chrome extension may be useful. It will unload any inactive Chrome tabs from the computer’s memory, saving a lot of RAM and CPU usage.

How to Fix Chrome’s High CPU Usage:

There are two possibilities for eliminating Chrome’s high CPU use that we must consider. We’ll go through both of them below:

1- When the Chrome Browser is open:

If you open Google Chrome and find that it is utilizing a significant amount of CPU resources, there are a few things you can do:

Check Chrome Task Manager:

The list of all Chrome processes and their resource usage is shown by the Chrome Task Manager. By right-clicking the title bar and selecting Task Manager, you may open it; alternatively, press Shift + Esc keyboard shortcut keys to launch it.

Clicking on “CPU” will order the list by CPU usage. Select the Chrome sub-process that is using the most processor percentage and click End process.

Disable Chrome Extensions:

If the above steps do not fix the problem, and it recurs, examine exactly how the process is being restarted time and again. The Chrome task manager is most likely to reveal which plugin or extension is initiating the procedure. You should uninstall the faulty add-on or plugin.

To turn off an extension, follow the following simple steps:

1. Go to the Chrome menu, then More Tools, Extensions. Or simply type “chrome://extensions/” into your address bar.
2. Enable your computer to automatically remove unreliable extensions. If you don’t want an extension or program, simply press the Remove button.

2- When the Chrome Browser is not Running:

When Chrome is closed, it might still be using a lot of CPU. This happens when you install applications in Chrome that activate at system startup and continue to run even after the browser has been closed. The following methods can be used to turn it off.

In Chrome, Disable Background Operations.

1. Go to the Chrome Menu, then Settings. Then choose “Advanced.” You may also just go to chrome://settings/system.
2. Uncheck “Continue running background apps when Google Chrome is closed” under System.

When you quit Chrome, all of the processes that it started will be terminated.

When Nothing Works:

If you’ve done everything above and still have a high CPU usage problem, consider the following tasks.

Remove all of the Recently Used Data from Google’s Cache:

From time to time, open website scripts and features can contribute to the overall CPU usage. You can reduce this by cleaning the Chrome cache using these instructions:

1. Go to the Chrome menu, then More Tools, then Chrome browsing data (Ctrl + Shift + Del) or simply open chrome://settings/clearBrowserData.
2. Check all the items under Advanced and press the “Clear data” button.

Disable all Apps and Extensions:

If you have a lot of extensions that are clogging up Chrome and draining its resources, and you’re unable to isolate them, consider shutting down each one individually or all at once. I also recommend turning off applications in addition to the extensions.

• To turn off extensions, open chrome://extensions/.
• Go to chrome://apps to disable apps.

Reset Chrome Settings:

If all else fails, you may restore Chrome to its factory settings. Resetting the browser requires the use of a different method than many other programs. Follow these steps to reset Chrome:

1. Go to the Chrome menu, then Settings. Then go to Advanced. Alternatively, go to chrome://settings/reset
2. In the Reset and Cleanup area, pick Restore settings to their original defaults.
3. If you click Delete, Chrome will offer you a warning that your startup page, new tab page, search engine, and pinned tabs will be deleted. It will also clear any temporary data such as cookies. To begin the procedure, press the Reset settings button.

Reinstall Chrome:

If Chrome continues to use system resources after performing the steps above, you may need to reinstall it completely using the procedures below:

1. To remove Chrome, go to Apps and Features in Windows 10 (Programs and Features in Windows 7) and select Uninstall.
2. Delete the following folder after uninstalling:
3. C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\
4. Update to the most recent version of Chrome and reinstall it.

Limit the Amount of CPU Resources Available to Chrome:

You can either close Chrome completely or disable it. If nothing is working and you don’t want Chrome to get in the way, you may take two steps:

• Set the browser process priority to “low.”
• Set the browser process affinity to a small number of CPU cores.

1. Go to Windows Task Manager and click the priority of your browser.
2. Right-click the Chrome.exe process that is exhibiting excessively high CPU usage under the Details tab.
3. Select priority to Below Normal or Low.

You can change the priority of all running Chrome.exe processes.

You may also restrict Chrome’s use of cores to specific cores while still allowing other apps access.

1. To adjust the affinity, open Windows Task Manager and go to the Details tab.
2. Select Set affinity from the menu that appears when you right-click on Chrome.exe.
3. Choose the cores that you can apply to this operation.

Final Words:

We have outlined all of the techniques we know how to reduce Google Chrome’s CPU usage. Which method was successful for you? If you’re still having difficulties, please describe them in the comments below and we’ll see if we can help.